On the day following, Whitefield appeared again before his self-constituted judges, and asked if his exception was to be referred to arbitration, or to be repelled? Being told that the exception was repelled, he then lodged an appeal to his Majesty in the High Court of Chancery; and went again to James' Island, and preached in Madam Woodward's barn.
Nothing remarkable occurred during the next three days, except that the irrepressible evangelist preached twice every day in Charleston; and that, on Saturday afternoon, the apparitor again brought him before the commissary, to take an oath that he would lodge his appeal within a twelvemonth, and deposit £10 sterling as a guarantee that his oath would be fulfilled. Finding that the commissary had authority to require this, the oath was taken, and the £10 deposited.
Thus ended the first trial in the first Episcopal Court in the British Colonies.[357] Appealing to the High Court of Chancery was an expensive business; but Whitefield did appeal. It so happened, however, that the hearing of his appeal was so deferred as to give the ecclesiastical judge of Charleston a new opportunity to vent his anger. For a year and a day, all proceedings in Commissary Garden's court were stayed; but, at the expiration of that time, Whitefield was again summoned to attend before his Charleston judges; and, as he neither appeared nor put in an answer, the following decree was pronounced against him. After reciting that his frequently preaching in Dissenting meeting-houses, without using the forms of prayer prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer, had been proved by Hugh Anderson, Stephen Hartley, and John Redman, the decree, in a cloud of high-sounding words, continued,—
"Therefore we, Alexander Garden, the Judge aforesaid, having first invoked the name of Christ, and setting and having God Himself alone before our eyes, and by and with the advice of the Reverend persons, William Guy, Timothy Millichamp, Stephen Roe, and William Orr, with whom in that part we have advised and maturely deliberated, do pronounce, decree, and declare the aforesaid George Whitefield, clerk, to have been at the times articled, and now to be a priest of the Church of England, and at the times and days in that part articled to have officiated as a minister in divers meeting-houses in Charleston, in the province of South Carolina, by praying and preaching to public congregations; and at such times to have omitted to use the Form of Prayer prescribed in the Communion Book, or Book of Common Prayer; or at least according to the laws, canons, and constitutions ecclesiastical in that part made, provided, and promulged, not to have used the same according to the lawful proofs before us in that part judicially had and made. We, therefore, pronounce, decree, and declare that the said George Whitefield, for his excesses and faults, ought, duly and canonically, and according to the exigence of the law in that part of the premises, to be corrected and punished, and also to be suspended from his office; and, accordingly, by these presents, we do suspend him, the said George Whitefield; and, for being so suspended, we also pronounce, decree, and declare him to be denounced, declared, and published openly and publicly in the face of the Church."[358]
As to how far the proceedings of this petty court of colonial clergymen, and their high-flown decree, were legal, I am not able to express an opinion; but it is scarcely possible to repress a smile at the official pomposity of Whitefield's judges. How was Whitefield himself affected? Writing to a friend four days before the trial commenced, he says:—
"July 11, 1740. I have been at Charleston a week. The Lord has been pleased to work on many hearts. On Sunday, the commissary denied me the sacrament; but, my dear Master fed me, notwithstanding, with the bread which cometh down from heaven. Persecution seems to be coming on more and more. On Tuesday, I am cited to appear before the commissary and his court in a judicial way. I leave the event to my Lord Jesus. If we suffer, we shall reign with Him."
To other friends, the day after the trial was concluded, Whitefield wrote:—
"Praise the Lord, O my soul! Our glorious Emmanuel seems to have girded His sword upon His thigh, and to be riding on from conquering to conquer. He is getting Himself the victory in Charleston. A glorious work is begun here. Many souls are awakened. The alteration in the people, since I came here at first, is surprising. I preach twice a day generally, either in the town or in the villages around. The commissary shoots out his arrows, even bitter words. He has denied me the sacrament, and cited me to appear before him and his court. I was obliged to appeal home. Oh, my dear brother, pray that I may be humble, and of a childlike spirit. Every day God shews me fresh instances of His love. There are some faithful ministers among the Baptists.
"God seems to be carrying on as great a work in Charleston as in Philadelphia. Surely our Lord intends to set the world in a flame. O that the holy fire of His divine love were kindled in every heart! Do not let us forsake Him, though we live in a crooked and perverse generation. Last night, I appeared a third time in a public court; but they did not accept my recusatio judicis, and I appealed home; so that now I have free liberty to embark when Providence pleaseth.
"God will work, and who shall hinder? The commissary's detaining me here, has much tended to the furtherance of the gospel. I put in my exception against his sitting as my judge, and it was repelled; so that I have appealed home, and all other proceedings here are stopped. By this means, I shall have liberty to preach the gospel without further interruption, and my call to England will be more clear. The Philadelphia people are building a house for me, one hundred and six feet long and seventy-four wide. The Lord is bringing mighty things to pass. The inhabitants here are wondrous kind. We often see the stately steps of our dear Lord in His sanctuary. I am more than happy. I am amazed at the Divine goodness. Lord, I abhor myself in dust and ashes! See the wonders of the Lord. Help us to praise Him. O pray that an humble, childlike spirit may be given to ever yours in Christ,
"George Whitefield."
Appropriately might Whitefield have applied to himself the words of St. Paul: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." His success in Charleston had been marvellous. He wrote:[359]—
"At my first coming, the people of Charleston seemed to be wholly devoted to pleasure. One, well acquainted with their manners and circumstances, told me that they spent more on their polite entertainments than the amount raised by their rates for the poor. But now the jewellers and dancing-masters begin to cry out that their craft is in danger. A vast alteration is discernible in ladies' dresses; and some, while I have been speaking, have been so convinced of the sin of wearing jewels, that, I have seen them, with blushes, put their hands to their ears, and cover them with their fans. The reformation, also, has gone further than externals. Many moral, good sort of men, who before were settled on their lees, have been awakened to seek after Jesus Christ; and many a Lydia's heart has been opened to receive the things that were spoken. Indeed, the word came like a hammer and a fire. Several of the negroes did their work in less time than usual, that they might come to hear me; and many of their owners, who have been awakened, have resolved to teach them Christianity. Had I time and proper schoolmasters, I might immediately erect a negro school in South Carolina, as well as in Pennsylvania. Many would willingly contribute both money and land."